THE U.S. NAVY DEBARRED British-based Lucas Industries and its U.S. subsidiaries from obtaining new government contracts last week as a result of ``fraudulent activity'' relating to Airframe Mounted Accessory Drives (AMADs) the company builds for the F/A-18 and azimuth drive units for the Army's multiple launch rocket system. The proposed ban comes less than two months after Lucas pleaded guilty to 37 counts of fraud involving false statements made about testing and inspection of the two systems and paid an $18.5-million fine (AW&ST Jan. 16, p. 25).
Denver International Airport's operators are counting on advanced technology to help them achieve efficiency levels that air carriers and passengers were promised in return for higher costs.
Space transportation is one of the marvels of our time. From Robert Goddard's first little liquid fueled rocket in 1926, the evolution to today's space capabilities has been amazing. Unfortunately, getting to and from space is also amazingly expensive.
Massachusetts lawmakers are leery of Raytheon's request for $42 million in tax relief and utility rate cuts, which Raytheon officials are insisting must be provided this year if defense manufacturing is to remain in place near Boston.
Michael J. Hughes has been appointed general manager of AAR Pacific, Ltd., in Singapore. He held a similar position at AAR Aviation Services (U.K.) in London. John O'Loughlin, previously with Aer Lingus, succeeds Hughes. James C. Bacon, who was vice president-operations for STS Services, has been named vice president-airline programs for AAR Allen Aircraft.
David F. Mitchell has been named vice president-business development for the government and military operations of Pemco Aeroplex, Birmingham, Ala. He was managing director of government sales.
HUGHES AIRCRAFT CO. was awarded a $481.6-million contract to build the next three NASA Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS), using a medium-power version of its HS 601 satellite bus. The Feb. 23 agreement brings the number of HS 601 sales to 41 units. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center used commercial bidding practices such as giving more leeway in how performance specifications are met, and requiring that NASA be reimbursed for spacecraft failures. TRW builds the current TDRS system and was Hughes' sole competitor.
EXPECT DENVER AIRSPACE CHANGES. An FAA Letter to Airmen is advising pilots that approximately 800 airspace changes will take effect when Denver International Airport (DIA) opens at 12:01 a.m. (0701 UTC) on Feb. 28. New Class B Airspace will affect a 30-mi.-radius around the Denver VOR/DME, which will have a new frequency and channel. On opening day, 27 low-altitude Victor airways and 26 jet routes will be established or realigned, and associated intersections will change. Denver terminal radar control airspace will increase to a 45-naut.-mi.
IN ADVANCE OF ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS' acceptance of its first Boeing 777 this fall, Pratt&Whitney will open an aircraft engine parts center in September in a 10,000-sq.-ft. facility being leased from ANA near Tokyo's Narita Airport. The facility will concentrate on JT9D and PW4000 engines for Boeing 747s, 767s and 777s, Airbus A300/310s and A330s, and McDonnell Douglas DC-10s and MD-11s. ANA will supply Pratt with support services such as cargo and warehouse handling and customs facilitation.
The National Transportation Safety Board has determined a flight crew's failure to follow checklist procedures and untimely response to erroneous airspeed indications were the probable causes of a rejected takeoff that ended with Continental Airlines Flight 795 perched atop a berm at LaGuardia Airport last March. The McDonnell Douglas MD-82 was traveling at 143 kt., 5 kt. above its V1 speed, when Capt. Phillip A. Wright rejected the takeoff at 5:59 p.m. on Mar. 2, the NTSB said in its final report earlier this month (AW&ST May 23, 1994, p. 31).
The Pentagon is considering easing restrictions on the transfer of electronic intelligence data to enable ``friendly'' countries to reprogram their U.S. built airborne radar warning receivers. At present, such updating to enhance RWR effectiveness is performed by U.S. defense agencies. But some countries would prefer to do their own reprogramming to expedite the process.
NATIONS AIR ON MAR. 6 expects to begin scheduled service between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and Boston. The Miami-based startup carrier's low-fare, ``ticketless'' flights to the three cities will initially operate five times daily on weekdays, and four times daily on weekends with Boeing 737-200 aircraft.
Robert Lobb has been promoted to vice president-sales in North America for Universal Alloy Corp., Anaheim, Calif. He was a sales manager. Yukio Murakawa has been named vice president-sales for Asia-Pacific. He was Asia sales manager. Nancy Newmyer has been named sales manager for North America.
Bob Pike has been appointed vice president-aircraft maintenance for FFV Aerotech, Nashville, Tenn. He was director of maintenance. Scott Hall has been promoted to vice president-marketing and sales from director of sales.
THE NORTHROP B-2 BOMBER'S wing leading-edge rain erosion problems will be corrected using decidedly low-tech solutions: coarser sandpaper and a thicker paint coat. Engineering specifications called for preparing the surfaces with 180-grit sandpaper, but fine-grit 320 was mistakenly used. The finer sandpaper did not abrade skin surfaces enough to ensure coatings would adhere when the aircraft flew though rain (AW&ST Feb. 13, p. 57).
Thomas L. Pleban has been named director of contracts and procurement for Space Industries International's Calspan Advanced Technology Center, Buffalo, N.Y. He was Material Dept. manager.
Joey Seow has been named market planning manager for North America for Singapore Airlines. Previously a market planning analyst, Seow succeeds W.K. Lim, who has been named regional cargo manager for Europe, based in London.
U.S. Army officials have been presenting the Pentagon's conventional systems committee with an informal briefing on the RAH-66 in preparation for an official Mar. 9 presentation that will be geared at increasing support for the next-generation helicopter. The Army's primary goal is to obtain release of $120 million in Fiscal 1995 funding for the Boeing Sikorsky Comanche that has been tied up since last fall. Deputy Defense Secretary John Deutch reduced the program to a two-prototype, deferred-production status in December.
British Aerospace Dynamics, GEC-Marconi and Matra Defense are discussing the possibility of a joint bid in the U.K. competition to supply a Conventionally Armed Stand-off Missile (CASOM) for the Royal Air Force. Although British Aerospace and GEC-Marconi formed a team last year to develop a new missile for the requirement, called Pegasus, the advancing talks between British Aerospace and Matra on merging their guided weapons businesses have led to discussions of a three-way joint proposal for the CASOM competition.
NEW RESEARCH ON aircraft wing icing may force modification of computer codes used to predict icing buildup, accretion rate and ice shapes. The findings could improve small- and mid-sized aircraft safety by leading to more effective design, placement and operation of deicing systems, according to Michael B. Bragg, an aeronautical and astronautical engineering professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Engineering flight tests of a Twin Commander 690A indicate the aileron control system is not subject to aileron snatch, as alleged by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). ``Snatch'' refers to an uncommanded, rapid deflection of the aileron. A safety board report urged the FAA to require mandatory inspection of the Twin Commander 690`s Frise-type aileron control system (AW&ST Jan. 3, 1994, p. 50). The safety board also recommended the agency issue an airworthiness directive, but the FAA declined.
LUFTHANSA GERMAN AIRLINES will acquire 20 Airbus Industrie A319 aircraft to replace older-generation Boeing 737-200s. The selection, approved by the airline's executive board, disappointed Boeing Co., which wanted to sell the German carrier updated 737s. From Lufthansa's standpoint, however, the A319 makes eminent sense. The airline already operates the Airbus A320 and A321, which have a common fuselage cross section and cockpit, giving it a great deal of flexibility with pilots and cabin crew. The A319s are assembled in Hamburg.
Robert E. Allen, Robert Alvine, Mellon C. Baird and George M. Ball have been named to the board of directors of the EDO Corp., College Point, N.Y. Allen is managing director of Redding Consultants. Alvine is a principal of Charterhouse Group International. Baird is chairman/ president/chief executive officer of Delfin Systems, and Ball has been a financial and management consultant to EDO.
Flight testing of the U.S. Navy/Air Force Joint Stand-Off Weapon has begun in earnest, as the program moves toward a critical design review next month. The Navy, which is the lead service for the program, began guided flight tests of a development model of the baseline AGM-154A JSOW from an F/A-18 last December. The glide bomb will have a range of more than 40 mi. and carry a variety of munitions. Guidance is provided by a Global Positioning System receiver and inertial navigation system.
